Trends in Urgent Care Utilization Among Medicare Beneficiaries From 2012 to 2019

How has urgent care (UC) utilization changed among older adults, and to what degree has utilization varied by patient and community characteristics?In this cross-sectional study, UC visits among older adults more than doubled from 2012 to 2019, with the slowest growth among beneficiaries aged 85 years or older, eligible for Medicaid, and residing in rural and disadvantaged communities. There was a marked increase in UC visits to advanced practice practitioners (APPs), who managed more than half of visits in 2019.This study suggests that older adults have increasingly used UC for acute, unscheduled care, although access appears to be limited for vulnerable populations.

Corresponding Author: Laura G. Burke, MD, MPH, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brown University Health Medical Group, 55 Claverick St, Providence, RI 02903 (lburke6@brownhealth.org).

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